Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said on Saturday that contractors and sub-contractors could face legal action if workers were caught smoking at construction and building-maintenance sites. Legal action will not, however, be taken if they can prove they have “fulfilled their responsibilities” in implementing anti-smoking measures. The government is considering laying down a blanket smoking ban at all construction sites following the deadly fire in Tai To in November, which claimed 168 lives. Officials have said they plan to submit amendments to subsidiary legislation to the Legislative Council early next month to mandate the ban. If approved, employers could face a maximum fine of HK$400,000 for workers found smoking on any construction site. Sun told an RTHK radio programme that employers could be exempted from the penalties if they were found to have done their part to prevent smoking at construction sites. “We will check whether the construction sites have taken steps to prevent people from smoking, such as putting up no-smoking signs, whether cigarettes can be placed at site entrances or exits, whether they have installed CCTV cameras for monitoring,” he said. “If they had done nothing, that would raise doubts over whether the employer had fulfilled their responsibilities and could be grounds for prosecution.” Sun also said designated social workers from the Social Welfare Department had reached out to all but two of the 1,984 Wang Fuk Court households to offer individual support, with the two households they could not get in touch with having been confirmed dead or to have left Hong Kong. Separately, Sun said two additional care facilities would soon offer temporary shelter for abused children aged from birth to six, as more cases were expected to come to light once the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance takes effect on Tuesday. The new facilities will accommodate up to 96 children. The ordinance requires 25 categories of professionals in the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors to report suspected serious child abuse cases or risks.